Little brothers can be really annoying sometimes, especially when they don’t get their own way.

I was 26 months old the first time I met him. He was red, wrinkled, and slept a lot. Despite his angelic appearance, I sensed a potential for mischief in him.

Being a little brother myself, I knew older brothers were bigger, stronger, and dominant. Looking at the red raisinette cuddled in next to my mom where I used to lay, I resolved to be the best big brother to him that I could be and dominate him completely. As if he could read my thoughts, he opened sleepy eyes, and looked around before giving me what I later learned was his basic ‘oh yeah? Says you’ face. The grownups said it was gas and mama picked him up to burp, but I knew the gauntlet had been flung. So be it, thought I. Let the games begin.

There were no ‘games’, of course, beyond the usual cruelties brothers inflict on each other as they grow up, partially because he was mama’s last baby and partly because he was a likable little cuss. Sure he could be annoying sometimes, in ways I never understood, and 26 months age difference seems like a lot until you hit twenty and want to date an 18 year old woman, but he was also funny and not afraid to do something really stupid if he thought it might be amusing.

Somehow, he survived, and so did I. In our maturity we laugh about youthful differences that seemed so important at the time. I have become aware of how much of an impression a small act of kindness can make in a recipient’s life. Any kindnesses I may have accidentally performed have been repaid many times over. He has gone far and done well in this world, leaving a legacy of kindness and consideration behind him. Many people have better lives because of him.

As he begins his sixth decade on this earth my little brother is still going strong, better than ever since they re-plumbed his heart. He shows no signs of slowing down, so keep a sharp lookout in the skies and highways of South Florida. Best to just give him his way, he can be annoying when he doesn’t get it.

Happy birthday, little brother.